Harlequin bug
Mary Foley Benson
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Washington, DC, United States
This watercolor illustrates the lifecycle of the stinkbug species Murgantia histrionica, also referred to as harlequin bug. It is brightly colored in orange, red, and yellow, and shaped like a sheild. Native to Central America and Mexico, it is now foun across North America as well. Harlequin bugs are a pest and cause damage to a number of different vegetable crops. Females lay cluster of eggs on the undersides of leaves. Insects emerging from eggs go through a nymph stage of up to two months before reaching adulthood.
Publication: 1952. Insects: Yearbook of Agriculture: 1952. Plate 34.
- Title: Harlequin bug
- Creator: Mary Foley Benson
- Physical Dimensions: 8" (20.3 cm) W x 14" (35.6 cm) H
- Type: Illustration
- Rights: This image was obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. The image or its contents may be protected by international copyright laws. http://www.si.edu/termsofuse
- External Link: View this object record in the Smithsonian Institution Collections Search Center
- Medium: Watercolor; Prints; Reprint
- Scientific Name: <i>Murgantia histrionica</i>
- Photo Credit: Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History
- Field: Entomology
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